When should cardio be done?

[bigrick]

Should a cardio workout be done before you lifting weights or after lifting weights? I am currently trying to bulk up so i dont do much cardio and i wanna know if its better to save it for like the last 15mins of a workout or before.

[SurfinAmy]

I've heard a couple of different things on this site....
some people say to save it for after your lifting, others say not even to do it on the same day.
Personally I do my lifting and cardio on alternate days & seems to give good results....
-Amy

[bigrick]

thanks for the help amy. So I guess it would be bad to do cardio after my weightlifting?

[jukka]

I've done it after weight sessions, and there's no problem...as long as the intensity stays fairly low.

If you train HIIT or Guerrilla or Max-OT cardio,
then definitely do it on a day when you aren't hitting weights.

But here's the dumbest advice I've read on the subject (from Flex magazine, where else), went something like this:
To maximize the fatass-burning benefits of your cardio sessions, you should: a) do your cardio on an empty stomach
AND
b) not eat for 3 to 4 hours after the cardio session, to make sure your body only has fat to burn for fuel.

The article, for lack of a better word, went on to elaborate that to get the cardio in on an empty stomach means that you should do them first thang in the morning and then immediately after your workout. and then not eat for 4 hours after that.
Do this and you'll be well on your way to a leaner, better body...

So yeah, do an hour of cardio after you wake up, then don't eat for the next 4 hours, in the evening, go to the gym and after weights, do your cardio and again, don't eat for 4 hours....

don't be surprised if you feel a touch weak on low on energy while on this regime...

[rrouleau]

Bigrick, experiment with it......see what works better for you. Right now i havent done any cardio for a month or so and im still burning fat off. See what your body likes and how it respondes to cardio before and after lifting and on alternate days.

[jukka]

I still think the intensity is key:

with high intensity cardio, doing it after a weight session is impossible, or possible but the intensity will be much lees than if you do it on an off day.

But moderate intensity aerobic session should not be a problem after a weight session. I mean it shouldn't be too demanding on your system or eat on your msucle gains.

[Todd]

Personally, I would not do cardio immediately after weight training, no matter what the intensity. Right after weight training is a time when you should be taking in quality nutrients (a whey protein shake, along with simple carbs and any other supplements that you may take) to replenish and restore your used up glycogen (carb) stores, and to kickstart your growth and recovery process. By doing cardio right after weights, you do two very bad things....

1) Fail to take advantage of the massive uptake of nutrients that your body is craving at this time, which would turn your body from a catabolic state to an anabolic state and start the recovery process. You want to get vital nutrients into your system ASAP after you complete your weight training!

2) You continue to work your body while in an already catabolic state. By doing this, you are basically doing more harm than good for your muscle gains and for the results you seek to get from the weight training workout you just completed.

At least that is my personal take on the issue.

[MostMuscle]

15 minutes of cardio after your workout will not negatively affect your recovery process. The difference on having your post workout nutrient intake 1 minute after training to having it 15-20 minutes training is so very small (If any).

The short duration of your cardio exercise also will not cause your body to use muscle tissue for energy, so no need to worry about that either. Glycogen stores are not as low after weight-lifting exercise sessions as popularly imagined. It takes highly trained athletes 4+ hours to completely deplete their glycogen stores, so your 60 minute weight-training session puts a much smaller dent in your glycogen stores than most would think, especially since it is not an aerobic event.

If you must do your cardio on the same day, I would recommend you do your cardio after your workout. Weight-lifting is a much more complex task than sitting on a bike. This would ensure that your energy levels are not sapped prior to performing any complex exercise movements. Even a small lapse in concentration or energy can cause injury in many weight-lifting movements.

On the flip side, some people hate cardio and as a result are more likely to blow it off after their workout and just leave the gym. If you are this type a person, it may be advantageous to get your cardio out of the way first and have your weight-lifting session as something to look foreword to.

[Todd]

I'd have to disagree with you MostMuscle. I would say glycogen stores are used up considerably when weight training, especially if you train intensely.

Having said this, the BEST thing to do is to get vital nutrients into your system ASAP after weight lifting...not do a bout of cardio. And I would definitely NOT do cardio before ANY of your workouts...that is even worse.

If you want to do cardio on the same day as working out, then I would space out the two activities by 8-12 hours...but preferrably it is best to do cardio on your days off to weight training.

Have a read on this article. ..as well as this one.

Here is another one stating how it is best to perform cardio and weight lifting 24 hours apart from one another to ensure best muscle gains.

[MostMuscle]

Todd..you seem to be a diehard AST fan, so there is not point trying to convince you otherwise.

PLUS...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 638–644.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Strength Performance Following Various Periods of Recovery
Ben C. Sporer and Howard A. Wenger


School of Physical Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine if the type and intensity of aerobic training affects performance in a subsequent strength-training session after varying periods of recovery. Sixteen male subjects participated in the study and were divided into 2 groups based on aerobic training, high-intensity intervals (MAX n = 8) and continuous submaximal (SUB n = 8). Each subject performed 4 sets of both bench press and leg press at approximately 75% 1 repetition maximum (1RM) following aerobic training with recovery periods of 4, 8, and 24 hours, as well as once in a control condition. Both the 4- and 8-hour conditions resulted in fewer total leg press repetitions than the control and 24-hour conditions. There was no difference between both the control and 24-hour conditions. No main effect was shown with respect to the type of aerobic training. It was concluded that when aerobic training precedes strength training, the volume of work that can be performed is diminished for up to 8 hours. This impairment appears to be localized to the muscle groups involved in the aerobic training.

Reference Data:Sporer, B.C., and H.A. Wenger. Effects of aerobic exercise


This is the abstract of the ONE study cited in their article. It clearly states that there was only a difference in performance during the 8 hours that followed an intense aerobic activity...which reinforces what I stated about how cardio could negativley effect your weight-lifting performance if performed prior to weight-training. Which once again, why I recommended it after weight-training, not before.

Also, while glyogen levels are affect with weight training sessions, it certainly is not at the levels that the media would like you to thin they are at. People in gyms everywhere walk around and drink gatorade etc, thinking it will give them more energy during their 45-60 minute workout, which is just not true. These sport drinks are really not useful for performance enhancement unless you are participating in an intense activity for over 90 minutes. Now, please don't mixed this up that I am not a big believer in post workout supplementation. I just used this example to show that glycogen levels are not as low as the general public may think they are as a result of weight-training and as a result muscle will not be used as fuel even in an intense 60 minute bout of resistance exercise (otherwise we would NEVER gain any muscle..lol).

[Todd]

I do follow AST, simply because it makes sense, and it works. But that is besides the point. Not going to argue over these points...but, if you believe that doing cardio directly after weight training is more or just as beneficial than separating your cardio and weight training sessions, then cool. But, personally, I do not believe that is the case.

[Todd]

Now, please don't mixed this up that I am not a big believer in post workout supplementation. I just used this example to show that glycogen levels are not as low as the general public may think they are as a result of weight-training and as a result muscle will not be used as fuel even in an intense 60 minute bout of resistance exercise (otherwise we would NEVER gain any muscle..lol).

Yes, I see your point in the above statement, and yes, it's not as if your glycogen stores are completely depleted after weight training, but nonetheless, your nutrient stores have been depleted to the point where after intense weight training your body is in a catabolic state, and is at a point where your muscles are craving carb replenishment, protein uptake etc.. It is at this time when nutrient uptake is at it's greatest and quality nutrition is of utmost importance...more than any other time of the day...except perhaps breakfast.

Having said this, it is not optimal to perform cardio while already in a catabolic state. There are other more efficient and effective way to get the most out of each of these activities...and separating the two accomplishes this.

[Mr VW]

Alright I have a quick question. When you use up glycogen stores , does that only happen when you are weight training; or is it a result of any type of physical activity? If so then why would it matter whether or not you do cardio directly after a weight training session; to me it just doesnt make sense because if your performing a physical activity then it shouldnt matter. Also when exactly does your body enter catabolic state? Im just wondering.

I have to agree with MostMuscle. It is easy to get too picky regarding training and recovery. By what the original poster wrote it doesn't appear like he is going overboard with his cardio, so it really shouldn't interfer with his bulking. And saying "I'm bulking" is too easy of an excuse to neglect cardio.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Mr VW

Alright I have a quick question. When you use up glycogen stores , does that only happen when you are weight training; or is it a result of any type of physical activity? If so then why would it matter whether or not you do cardio directly after a weight training session; to me it just doesnt make sense because if your performing a physical activity then it shouldnt matter.

Yes, any activity uses up glycogen...but the amount of glycogen used up depends on the activity itself and how intense it is. If you walk across the street, well then no, you wouldn't need to worry about your carb stores having been even slightly depleted. Now, after intense workouts is a different story. The stress placed upon your muscles while performing an intense workout is a lot larger than most other activities....because you are forcing your muscles to lift large loads in a short period of time, and therefore you definitely stress and use up your muscles nutrient stores. Now, to what point you use them up, again depends on your intensity. If you go into the gym and just simply go thru the motions, you aren't going to have a need to replenish carb stores after your workout, let alone having stimulated new muscle growth. The more intense the workout, the more glycogen and nutrients are going to be used up (obviously).

After an extremely intense workout (which all workouts should be), your muscles are in a state of "shock", they've been broken down, energy stores (glycogen) has been used up, and immediately after a workout, your body is atutomatically in a catabolic state due to this stress they've recieved.

This is the very reason why post-workout nutrition (simple sugar drink intake and whey protein shakes) is so critical at this point and the hours following each workout. The sooner you feed your muscles after a workout, the sooner the recovery process begins, and the sooner your body begins to switch into an anabolic state. This is a time when either you make or break your results from the workout you just performed. You can either capitalize on your results at this time or you can easily set yourself up for anything between so-so results and ZERO to negative results, depending on how long you wait to eat, what you eat, and the timing of those post-workout meals. That is how critical post-workout nutrition is!

The smarter you are about nutrient timing and providing your body with the best post-workout meals possible, the better your results will be (granted you provide your body with all the other aspects necessary for developing your body --sleep, rest, meal frequency etc..)

Also when exactly does your body enter catabolic state? Im just wondering.

Your body is in a catabolic state when you awake each morning, as well as immediately after INTENSE exercise....whether it be a weight or cardio session. It may also slip into a catabolic state anytime where a steady flow of food intake (namely protein, but carbs and some fat are also important) is not available...that is why it's so important to eat every 2-3 hours day-in and day-out. Protein is muscle, muscle is protein! No protein intake = no muscle gain. Simple as that!